Posted at 10:06 a.m. PST Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2000

California power grid strained for third day SAN FRANCISCO, (Reuters) - The California Independent System Operator (ISO) appealed to residents and businesses to conserve electricity Wednesday as operating reserves of power dropped in the state, its third straight day of calling the alert.

The ISO, which manages most of the state's grid, declared a so-called stage one emergency Wednesday morning to last until 9:00 p.m. PST. This emergency level is an appeal for voluntary reductions in power consumption.

The grid manager said a large generating unit shut down early Wednesday, which caused the ISO to declare an emergency.

It was not immediately known what plant was off line.

The ISO's power managers were closely monitoring the power demand and supply situation on Wednesday after it was forced to declare another power emergency Tuesday until 8:00 p.m. PST.

Wednesday is the third straight day the ISO appealed for reduced consumption in order to avert power outages, as operating reserves of electricity have dropped.

Higher than usual demand for heating power combined with an estimated 12,000 megawatts of generation off line in California due to scheduled and unplanned maintenance to cut operating reserves, the ISO said in a statement.

Further, cold weather in the Pacific Northwest increased demand for power there for furnace blowers and electric heaters, which reduced imports by California by one third, the ISO said.

Peak demand for electricity in California was estimated at 32,920 megawatts (MW) Tuesday evening. The forecast for Wednesday is 33,600 MW and 33,708 MW Thursday.

Temperatures in California are forecast to continue about 6 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit below normal Wednesday and Thursday but overnight lows are are expected to be a few degrees higher than at the start of the week, according to figures from Weather Services Corp. (WSC).

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), November 16, 2000